Shameless Self Promotion Techniques

Every small business faces this challenge from time to time, how do you promote your business without feeling pushy or overwhelming. Nobody wants to be the stereotypical used car salesman but you still need to get your voice out there for people to know that you exist.

The first step to any good promotion is knowing who your audience and target market is. You have a great product or service in hand, now imagine people purchasing or using this item. Who is the primary purchaser? Do you have cool new tech gear that might be perfect for millennials? Perhaps it’s something geared towards young moms or for middle-aged men. Although it may be great if all of the above were purchasing your item you really need to focus on one main category to be your focal point.

When you try to make everyone happy and try to promote your product or service to everyone at once you will have problems truly engaging any one person or group of people. If you customize your promotions to a primary group you will begin to lure them in and make them feel special, as if you’re speaking directly to them. Do you remember going to concerts and feeling like the lead singer is singing that ballad to you? That’s exactly how you want your audience to feel, like you’re singing directly to them. The outliers will then purchase on an as needed basis but your core group will be the avid followers that your business needs to succeed.

This core group of purchasers may also become influencers for the outliers. When you have a primary group of people intrigued in your item or service they will be more inclined to spread the word to their friends, family and peers. There is no better advertising than word of mouth.

Once you know who your target audience is you’ll be able to drill down and figure out the best method of reaching them. Does this group of people live by their cell phone and use social media day in and day out? Or perhaps doing a press release or advertising in the local paper might get in front of your audience a little bit easier. Many news stations are often looking to feature small businesses or current events and you might be able to land a spot on the morning news to promote yourself.

After figuring out how and where you’re going to promote yourself you’re going to want to practice that elevator pitch of yours. Grab your supportive friends and family members and practice on them. Have them ask you questions or have them ask you what you do for a living or what you sell so you can practice your perfect pitch. You don’t want to come across a guru in your industry and then find yourself tripping over your words. You need your pitch to come out fluidly and confidently. This is your dream after all you should know this like the back of your hand!

If you’re still finding yourself struggling and need some help or would prefer to just remove the idea of promotion and media writing off of your plate contact me and I’d be happy to help work out any other kinks you may have!